”I’m gonna rip up that contract”: When Geno Auriemma jokingly admitted he had eyes for Dan Hurley’s share of money if he left UConn for Lakers
In the June 5, 2024, episode of the "Dan Patrick Show," UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma hilariously said that he was eyeing some of the school's budget for Dan Hurley's extension. At the time, the men's basketball coach was deciding on a $70 million head coaching offer from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Auriemma also finalized a five-year extension with the women's basketball program worth $18.7 million on June 4, 2024. Claiming to give the Huskies a discount on his services, Geno Auriemma joked that he would have demanded a bigger contract in case Dan Hurley left UConn for the Lakers.
"I had already decided that I wanted to (continue coaching at UConn)," he said (Timestamp 5:40). "Now, what p***es me off is that if I had known that this was happening with Danny, because I think I gave the old AARP discount to the university because I thought they're going to have to pay a lot of money to keep Hurley."
"Well, if he leaves I'm going to be p***ed and I'm going to rip up that contract and I want a new one and I want some of the money that they were going to give him."
Dan Hurley eventually declined the offer to coach LeBron James and the Lakers and signed a five-year restructuring extension with UConn worth $50 million on Jul. 8, 2024.
Geno Auriemma praises freshman-senior duo for leading UConn without Paige Bueckers
The Huskies lost Paige Bueckers to an injury during their Jan. 5 game against Villanova due to a lower body sprain, and she has missed the last two games. The coach demanded his players to step up in their respective roles to fill the star guard's void and senior Azzi Fudd and freshman Sarah Strong answered the call since then.
With that, Auriemma praised the senior-freshman duo's effort after they led UConn to a 73-55 win over Georgetown on Saturday. Fudd led the team with 21 points while Strong had 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
"They're both really good offensive players, so I'm not surprised," he said (Timestamp 0:24). "I think they're getting an opportunity to be even more aggressive than they normally are. So, I'm glad Azzi played well, this is her first time playing down here and Sarah just keeps being Sarah."
Azzi Fudd is averaging 22 points on over 60% shooting in the last two games. Meanwhile, Sarah Strong has posted 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game while making 58% of her shots in Paige Bueckers' absence.